Ribbon re-inker including helically grooved applicator roll



Oct. 5, 1965 w. N. BESENICK 3,209,725

RIBBON RE-INKER INCLUDING HELIGALLY GROOVED APPLICATOR ROLL Filed Feb. 21, 1963 INVENTOR. WILLIAM IV. BESENICK.

AT TORNEY.

United States Patent 3,209,725 RIBBON RE-INKER INCLUDING HELICALLY GROOVED APPLICATOR ROLL William N. Besenick, Dexter, Mich, assignor to Eurrouglrs Corporation, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Filed Feb. 21, 1963, Ser. No. 260,228 7 Claims. (Cl. 118-204) This invention relates generally to ink transfer devices employed between a primary ink containing reservoir and a secondary reservoir such as an ink absorbing ribbon, roller, mat or the like and, more particularly, to an improved ink transfer device for a reinking system employing an inking cartridge of the wick applicator variety suitable for reinking of ribbons in printing and business machines.

Previously employed ink transfer reinking systems of the above general character fail to take into account certain ink rheological factors in the provision of optimum balance between the input or primary reservoir and the output or secondary reservoir. System variables, including temperature, pressure and machine output requirements, materially affect the rate and quantum of transfer from the primary to the secondary reservoir, the exhaustion of ink from which is replenished from the primary reservoir through the ink transfer means. With increasing temperature and pressure conditions, for example, such systems tend to supply an excessive quantity of ink, causing dripping or running of droplets or rivulets from the various parts of the inking system. In addition to aifecting the quality of the print obtained from the ribbon and requiring frequent operator attention, service, and adjustment, this results in considerable inconvenience, soiling of machine parts, documents, the hands and clothes of the operator or attendant, as well as wastage of ink.

Accordingly, the present invention has for its object to provide a reinking system which takes into consideration ink rheology as affected or influenced by system variables including temperature and pressure over a wide range of conditions to provide good quality printing and more uniform balance or transfer between input and output stations of a reinking system as employed in a business machine, for example.

A related object is to provide a reinking system that reduces or eliminates the need for manual or other adjustments, thereby making the system operable over a longer period of time without operator and servicing attention than presently used systems.

A specific object of this invention is to provide an improved ink transfer or feed roller device for a ribbon reinking system that employs a capillary actioned wick applicator which is an integral part of a primary ink reservoir at the input end of the system and a reinking roller acting as a secondary reservoir at the output end.

A more specific object is to provide a reinking system featuring an improved ink transfer roller which intercepts and keeps excessive droplets or runnings of ink from soiling the machine and parts likely to come into contact with the documents being processed or the hands of the operator.

Another object is to provide in apparatus of the above character an ink transfer roller construction which prevents wastage and spilling of ink and which intercepts and directs ink runs into the ribbon even during idle print, machine shut down and non-advancing ribbon feed periods.

The above and other objects, features, and advantages together with the manner of their accomplishment will appear more fully from the following detailed description and drawings wherein:

aaaizs FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ribbon reinking systern containing an ink transfer roller constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevation view taken in the direction 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are enlarged sectional views of described forms of grooves or channels for an ink transfer roller in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is an alternate form of ink transfer roller in accordance with the present invention.

With reference to the drawings, there is shown a ribbon supporting and feeding mechanism 10 employed in apparatus shown in US' Patent 2,981,421 and including in general a fixed U-shaped support or floor plate 12 on which is mounted a laterally spaced pair of upstanding ribbon spindles i3, 14 for a pair of ribbon spools 15, 16, a slidable raised plate located inwardly of the ribbon spools, and a laterally spaced, rearwardly located pair of C-shaped brackets or bails 20, 21. Each of the bails 20, 21 is pivotally mounted on a corresponding one of a laterally spaced pair of vertical posts 22, 23 fixed to floor plate 12 and carries a roller 24, 25 freely rotatably mounted between the vertically spaced, horizontally generally inwardly extending arms of a corresponding bail. Slidable plate 12, mounted through elongated slots as to floor plate 12, is also U-shaped and has a pair of laterally spaced, horizontally rearwardly extending arms 34, each of which fixedly mounts a vertical guide post 36, 37 at the rear thereof. The ribbon spools carry a relatively wide, presoaked ink bearing ribbon 38 extending from spool 15 over roller 24, guide posts 36, 37' and roller 25 to spool 16. Also shown is a part of the ribbon advancing and reversing mechanism 4i} including a ratchet wheel 41, 42 for each ribbon spindle, a selectively operable actuator lever 43, 44 for each ratchet wheel, and a reversing detent 45 of the ribbon feeding mechanism which, together with the power drive and actuator mechanism is more fully shown and described in the above mentioned patent of common ownership herewith.

The presoaked, ink bearing transfer ribbon 38 is formed of a fine woven silk, nylon or cotton mesh material with capillary sized interstices and is located between a type bar, hammer or printing plate so and a document or paper sheet 52 backed by a platen 54, as shown in FIG. 2. When the ribbon is squeezed between the paper and the type, a minute volume of liquid ink is transferred from the ribbon to the paper as a print. It can be readily appreciated that after a series of such printing impressions, the ribbon will be drained until it no longer will contain a sufficient amount of ink to provide a good quality print, defined herein as print of suitable sharpness in form and consistency in dye color or pigmentation density that can be readily distinguished by a viewer or optical scanner.

Accordingly, there is provided a reinking system comprising a primary ink reservoir for replenishing the supply of ink exhausted from the ribbon, which may be considered as a secondary reservoir in the output of the system. In the illustrated embodiment, the reinking system includes an ink container or cartridge 56 supplying fresh ink from the interior of the tubular cartridge body 57 through an applicator wick 58 extending through a feed tube 60 to an ink transfer roller 62. in contact with the ribbon. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the ink cartridge 56 is bodily mounted in a generally horizontal position on the slidable support plate 18 by means of an adjustable bracket 63, mounting clamp or clip 64, threaded bolt and wing nut 66. The offset wick enclosing feed tube 66 extends generally tangent from the cartridge cap 68 and is positioned by a U-shaped bracket 70 which is slidably mounted and then locked on support plate 18 after the bracket has been adjusted to place the feed tube in a position in which the exposed tip of the wick 58 is in light contact with the upper portion of the freely rotatable ink transfer idler roller 62 as described more fully below. Inking cartridges of this and a related character suitable for use herein are shown and described in applicants copending U.S. patent application S.N. 39,712, filed June 29, 1960, also of common ownership herewith and now abandoned.

The ink transfer roller 62 is vertically mounted and journaled in a C-shaped frame or bail 72 having a vertically spaced pair of horizontally rearwardly extending arms 73, 74. Bail 72 is slidably mounted through an elongated slot '75 in the lower arm thereof to a stud 76 and a guide post 77, both fixedly mounted on arm 35 of slidable plate 18. Post 77 extends vertically through slot 75 in lower arm 73 and an elongated slot 78 in upper arm 74 of bail 72 and is connected through springs 79, 80 to the vertically extending leg or web 81 of bail 72. The springs 79, 80 thus urge the bail 72 forwardly so that, after adjustment and positioning of the slidable plate 18, the ink transfer roller 62 is in continual line contact with the ribbon and is resiliently urged against the ribbon and the back-up roller 25 carried in bail 21, the rearward movement of which is limited by an upstanding post 82 on floor plate 12.

After the slidable plate has been adjusted to obtain the desired pressure between the transfer roller and backup roller, the screws 32, 33, by which the slidable plate is secured to the floor plate 12, are tightened. The inking cartridge 56 is then axially and rotationally adjusted in spring clip 64 to position the laterally extending feed tube 60 of the cartridge to bring the tip of the wick applicator 58 into light contact with the upper portion of the transfer roller to apply a thin film in the form of a continuous uninterrupted band 84 of fresh ink thereto from the cartridge. The feed tube supporting bracket 70 is then adjusted to maintain this positional setting of the feed tube and is secured to the slidable plate 18 by screw 71.

As previously mentioned, such reinking systems are designed with the view of balancing the ink input to the ribbon from the primary reservoir to the ink output from the ribbon or secondary reservoir. However, because of variables as viscosity changes in the liquid ink due to ambient temperature increases in the machine, pressure differentials in the inking cartridge caused by clogging of fluid flow and/ or venting in the primary reservoir, for example, and changes in ink output requirements under different printing demand rates of the machine, a perfect balance is difficult, if not impossible, to obtain. Optimum balance conditions experimentally attained for one set of conditions, are effective only for those specific set up or initial conditions, and any variation of temperature, pressure, print output requirements or combination of these variables will invariably cause an excessive quantity of ink to be supplied from the cartridge to the vertically mounted ink transfer roller 62, causing running or dripping therefrom as shown at 86. This problem becomes particularly acute when the transfer roller is not turning, as during idle printing or machine shutdown times when the ink cannot be directed to the ribbon. The excessive dripping or running of ink, if left unattended, will flow down the surface of the transfer roller due to gravity. Further downward flow will direct the dripping or running of the ink off the roller, causing soiling of areas outside the reinking system and necessitating bother some cleaning and time consuming adjustments involving disconnecting the applicator from contact with the ribbon or attempting to regulate or decrease the quantity of ink supplied from the transfer roller to the ribbon.

In accordance with the present invention, the greater shart of these difficulties are overcome without resort to the above expedients while providing optimum transfer of ink to the ribbon over a wide range of conditions by constructing the transfer roller 62 in such a manner as to intercept any ink runs starting anywhere about the surface thereof and directing the runs into the ribbon independently of movement of the roller.

In the embodiment illustrated herein, there is provided in the peripheral surface of the roller 62 a pair of vertically axially spaced, open channels in the form of continuous annular grooves or recesses 90, 91 which are of uniform and relatively narrow width in relation to the width of the band 84 and are connected by a helically extending groove or channel 02 of at least one full coil or turn around the circumferential surface of the roller body in contact with the ribbon. The grooves may be shaped as shown in FIG. 3 with narrow inwardly extending upper and lower lands l approximately 0.010 inch in length and a semi circular inner wall g approximately to inch in diameter, taking care to avoid sharp corners at the intersection of the lands with the outer peripheral surface of the roller that might cut the ribbon. Where feasible, the lower land could be curvilinear to impart some what of a cusp or trough shape to the groove to form a pocket or gutter for holding ink intercepted therein as a pool or well as shown at 94 in the modification of FIG. 4 in which the upper land has been chamfered as at 96 to enable the ink to fiow more readily into the groove. The depth of the grooves in relation to the pool or stream of ink intercepted or flowing therein should, of course, be such as to assure effective transfer of the ink into the ribbon irrespective of the rotation of the roller. The roller itself may be formed of powdered metal or by automatic screw machine process and has a reticulated or unpolished surface finish. Similarly, the surface finish of the lands and inner wall of the grooved channels is not polished or smooth, but is slightly roughened as by an etching, blasting or grinding process so as to present an ink attracting rather than repelling surface character. A 63 micro finish was found to be satisfactory. This enables the ink intercepted by the channel to spread therealong and be directed toward the ribbon for transfer thereto. The channels thus act and serve as active ink transfer portions of the roller and actively transfer to the ribbon any ink runs or droplets which should form anywhere about the roller and be intercepted by the grooves or channels.

If an excessive dripping or running of ink, as shown at 86, should form on the ink transfer roller 62 at the wick applicator tip contact area, the first annular groove just below the wick applicator intercepts the downward gravitational flow of the run and will direct some of the excess circumferentially around the roller 62 to the ribbon where capillary action will disperse the ink to a nonexcessive state therethrough. Any balance of excess ink not arrested in its downward flow by the annular groove 90 will be arrested by the helical groove 92 which is connected to and communicates with the first annular groove. This helical grooving has a slope, which, in its coiling around the peripheral surface of the roller, contacts the secondary reservoir or ribbon at some point intermediate the vertically spaced annular grooves. Multiple helical grooving, as shown in FIG. 2, similarly or oppositely directed as shown in FIG. 5, and starting from the first annular groove can be used, although one such groove with a slope of 30 with respect to the vertical axis of the roller was found sufficient to dissipate excess ink flow to the ribbon and to prevent overflow from spilling down the roller for the specific reinking system shown. The shape and dimensions of this helical groove are the same as for the first annular groove. The second or bottom annular groove 91, which is normal to the vertical axis of the roller functions in the same manner as the first and is connected to and communicates with the bottom of the helically coiled groove to act as an added ink pocket or tertiary reservoir for large excesses of ink.

It can be readily appreciated that transfer of ink from the various channels is accomplished independently of movement of the transfer roller and even during machine shutdown time and periods when the roller is not moved by the advancing ribbon. Since each of the grooves or channels is continuous or of at least one full turn around the periphery of the roller, which is in line contact with the ribbon, ink will be transferred from the grooves at several points spaced axially of the roller where the several ink filled grooves contact the ribbon, thus enabling more rapid dispersal of ink through the ribbon than where ink is applied thereto at but a single point or region. The roller thus functions as an efficient ink transfer device intercepting and dispersing excess ink runs to the ribbon over a wide range of conditions. As employed with a wick type applicator from which fresh ink is supplied to the roller in a continuous uninterrupted band, the roller captures excess runs of ink that would otherwise flow down the roller, be wasted, and soil parts of the equipment and direct such runs into the ribbon for more eifective, rapid and thorough inking thereof without attempting to regulate the ink supplied to the ribbon by disconnecting or otherwise adjusting the applicator along the roller.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for supplying ink to an advanceable ribbon of a printing machine comprising the combination of an ink reservoir, a generally vertically mounted ink transfer idler roller in line contact with and rotatable by the ribbon with the advancement thereof, and a capillary actioned ink feed applicator continuously supplying ink from the ink reservoir to an upper portion of the roller for transfer to the ribbon, the peripheral surface of the roller below the point of application of the ink thereto from the applicator having at least one open channel therein of uniform ink attracting and spreading surface quality extending at least one full turn about the circumference of the roller to contact the ribbon and of a depth to direct ink spreading downwardly along the surface of the roller and intercepted by the channel around the roller for transfer to the ribbon at at least one point axially displaced from and below the point of application of the ink to the roller irrespective of the rotation of said roller.

2. Apparatus for supplying ink to an advanceable ribbon of a printing machine comprising the combination of an ink reservoir, a generally vertically mounted ink transfer idler roller in line contact with the ribbon and rotatable thereby with the advancement thereof, and a capillary actioned wick applicator continuously supplying ink from the reservoir to an upper portion of the roller for transfer to the ribbon, the peripheral surface of the ink transfer roller below the point of application of ink thereto having at least one open channel of uniform narrow width and of ink attracting and spreading surface quality extending helically at least one full turn about the circumference of the roller, said channel having a portion thereof in contact with the ribbon and being of a depth to direct ink runs starting anywhere along the surface of the roller above and intercepted by the channel around the roller for transfer to the ribbon at at least one point below the start of the run and irrespective of the rotation of the roller.

3. A transfer roller for apparatus in accordance with claim 2 above wherein said channel has a spaced pair of lands joined a curved inner wall whose center of curvature is displaced inwardly of the periphery of the roller.

4. A continuous reinking apparatus for an advanceable ribbon of a printing machine comprising the combination of an ink reservoir, a generally vertically mounted ink transfer roller in line contact with and rotatable by the ribbon with the advancement thereof, and a capillary actioned wick in contact with and extending between the ink in the reservoir and an upper portion of the roller for continuously supplying ink thereto for transfer to the ribbon, the peripheral surface of said. ink transfer roller having a plurality of active ink intercepting and transferring channels therein including a pair of axially spaced annular grooves encircling the roller below the point of contact of the wick with the roller and a helical groove extending at least one full turn about the roller and between the axially spaced annular grooves and communicating with each of said annular grooves, said ribbon being in contact with grooved portions of the roller whose grooves are of a depth, extent, configuration and surface quality to transfer and supply ink to the ribbon irrespective of the rotation of the roller.

5. An ink transfer roller for apparatus in accordance with claim 4 above including multiple helically extending grooves communicating with and extending between said axially spaced annular grooves.

6. An ink transfer roller for apparatus in accordance with claim 4 above including another helical groove oppositely directed from and intersecting the first mentioned helical groove and communicating with said axially spaced annular grooves.

7. A ribbon inking system comprising the combination of a fixed support plate mounting a spaced pair of upstanding, rotatable ribbon spools having an inked ribbon extending therebetween and a back-up roller contacting one side of the ribbon adjacent one of said spools, a plate slidably mounted on and releasably secured to said fixed support plate and mounting a slotted frame thereon on the other side of the ribbon, guide means on said slidable plate and extending through said slotted frame, an upstanding ink transfer idler roller rotatably mounted in said frame, spring means connected between said guide means and the frame resiliently urging the frame toward the ribbon establishing line contact of the transfer roller therewith along the line of tangency of the backup roller .with the ribbon and a predetermined pressure between the back-up roller and the transfer roller, and an inking reservoir mounted on said slidable plate having a capillary actioned wick extending therefrom into contact with an upper portion of the transfer roller and continuously applying a coating of ink in a band to the peripheral surface of the rotatable roller, said transfer roller having at least one open channel therein of uniform and narrow width relative to the width of the band of ink thereon and extending at least one full turn about the periphery of the roller below the band of ink, said channel being of a depth and configuration and having a portion thereof in contact with the ribbon to intercept and direct ink runs around the roller to the ribbon irrespective of the rotation of the roller.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,338,138 1/44 Sillars.

2,599,561 6/52 Knight 118-268 2,745,533 5/56 Keleher 1l8235 X 2,770,215 11/56 Knight 1l8235 X 2,964,157 12/60 Knight 1l8-268 X 3,056,164 10/62 Reichel et a1. 226-l93 X RICHARD D. NEVIUS, Primary Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING INK TO ADVANCEABLE RIBBON OF A PRINTING MACHINE COMPRISING THE COMBINATION OF AN INK RESERVOIR, A GENERALLY VERTICALLY MOUNTED INK TRANSFER IDLER ROLLER IN LINE CONTACT WITH AND ROTATABLE BY THE RIBBON WITH THE ADVANCEMENT THEREOF, AND A CAPILLARY ACTIONED INK FEED APPLICATOR CONTINUOUSLY SUPPLYING INK FROM THE INK RESERVOIR TO AN UPPER PORTION OF THE ROLLER FOR TRANSFER TO THE RIBBON, THE PERIPHERAL SURFACE OF THE ROLLER BELOW THE POINT OF APPLICATION OF THE INK THERETO FROM THE APPLICATOR HAVING AT LEAST ONE OPEN CHANNEL THEREIN OF UNIFORM INK ATTACTING AND SPREADING SURFACE QUALITY EXTENDING AT LEAST ONE FULL TURN ABOUT THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE ROLLER TO CONTACT THE RIBBON AND OF A DEPTH TO DIRECT INK SPREADING DOWNWARDLY ALONG THE SURFACE OF THE ROLLER AND INTERCEPTED BY THE CHANNEL AROUND THE ROLLER FOR TRANSFER TO THE RIBBON AT AT LEAST ONE POINT AXIALLY DISPLACED FROM AND BELOW THE POINT OF APPLICATION OF THE INK TO THE ROLLER IRRESPECTIVE OF THE ROTATION OF SAID ROLLER. 